ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Three days before a city resident was fatally shot confronting someone trying to open car doors, police leaders addressed the issue in a podcast.
Police Chief Charles Roca and Detective Luiz Garcia urged residents to participate in a crime prevention effort by making sure their car doors are consistently locked overnight.
- Two people died after exchanging gunfire early Friday
- It happened in the 100 block of East South Street, in East Allentown
- Police said a resident confronted someone trying to enter parked vehicles
It’s part of a nationwide campaign called the “9 p.m. routine.” Roca and Garcia discussed it in the chief’s monthly podcast Tuesday.
Early Friday, police said a resident confronted individuals who were trying to open the doors of parked vehicles in the 100 block of East South Street, near Keck Park in East Allentown.
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The resident and one of the men traded gunshots and both were fatally struck, according to police. It happened at about 1:40 a.m.
Police called to the scene said they found two men with gunshot wounds and both died after police tried to provide first aid.
On Saturday, police Capt. Alicia Conjour said the issue of people testing car doors in an attempt to see if they’re unsecured is a problem across the city.
“I can’t say that we’ve seen anything like that specifically isolated to that neighborhood,” Conjour said. “It’s kind of a problem everywhere with people trying to get into unlocked cars. I can’t say it’s worse there; it just happens.”
Conjour said an investigation into the gunfight is ongoing, led by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. She said she wasn’t at liberty to discuss the details of the case.
Authorities have yet to identify the victims.
Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio said the victims were a 21-year-old man and a 42-year-old man, both from Allentown. He said he would not be releasing their names until after autopsies are concluded Monday.
“It’s kind of a problem everywhere with people trying to get into unlocked cars."Allentown police Capt. Alicia Conjour
Detective Garcia participated in Roca’s podcast and reviewed the 9 p.m. routine campaign.
“We’re reminding folks at nighttime to have their vehicles locked up,” Garcia said. “We have folks checking cars at night. If they are, by all means report that suspicious activity. Lock it up. Make it a habit.”
The Allentown Police Department joined in the nationwide campaign last year.
The early Friday shooting was the second in Allentown in just a few hours.
At 6:40 p.m. Thursday, a 39-year-old man died in a separate shooting in the Center City area. Darnelle Thompson was shot and killed in the 500 block of North Fourth Street.
Police say they were looking for witnesses in both cases but have provided little detail about the investigations.
Anyone with information about the incidents or who may have witnessed them is asked to call the Allentown Police Criminal Investigations Division at 610-437-7721, or make an anonymous tip through the Allentown Police Tip411 app.
Both shootings are being investigated by the Allentown Police Criminal Investigations Division and the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, as well as the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.
